Windows 7 hits 20% market share

Windows 7 is now running on one-fifth of the world’s computers, but still significantly trails Microsoft’s most-used operating system: Windows XP.

That’s according to Net Applications, which tracks OS, browser and other software market shares. In December, Windows 7 hit 20.87 percent as it slowly climbs in popularity, according to the firm.

Windows XP was on 56.72 percent of computers in December while Windows Vista had a share of 12.11 percent, according to Net Applications. Mac users still were in the minority: 3.05 percent of computers ran Mac OS X 10.6 and 1.46 percent ran Mac OS X 10.5.

The 20-percent milestone is a good way for Microsoft to start off the new year, especially as it gears up to show Windows-powered tablets at the International Consumer Electronics Show this week in Las Vegas. The iPhone/iPad platform, Apple’s iOS, has broken into whole percentages thanks to the popularity of the iPad — it ran on 1.02 percent of computers in December, according to Net Applications.